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ToxFAQs™ for Dichlorvos

This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions about dichlorvos. For more information, you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present.

Highlights

Dichlorvos is an
insecticide which is used to control insects primarily
in storage areas and barns. It can affect the nervous
system where it may cause nausea and vomiting, restlessness,
sweating, and muscle tremors at high levels. Dichlorvos
been found in at least 3 of the 1,430 National Priorities
List sites identified by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).

What is dichlorvos?

Dichlorvos is an insecticide that is
a dense colorless liquid. It has a sweetish smell and readily
mixes with water. Dichlorvos used in pest control is diluted
with other chemicals and used as a spray. It can also be incorporated
into plastic that slowly releases the chemical.

Dichlorvos is used for insect control
in food storage areas, green houses, and barns, and control
of insects on livestock. It is not generally used on outdoor
crops. Dichlorvos is sometimes used for insect control in
workplaces and in the home. Veterinarians use it to control
parasites on pets.

How can dichlorvos affect my health?

The major effect of dichlorvos is on
the nervous system. Studies on people who were exposed to
dichlorvos by breathing air in the workplace containing low
levels of dichlorvos have not shown any harmful effects. Animal
studies have shown that breathing high levels can cause nervous
system effects.

Ingesting large doses may cause nausea
and vomiting, restlessness, sweating, and muscle tremors,
while very large doses may cause coma, inability to breathe,
and death. Animal studies have also shown effects on the nervous
system when animals drank water or ate food containing dichlorvos.

It is not known whether dichlorvos can
affect reproduction or cause birth defects in people.

Animal studies have not reported effects
on reproduction or birth defects when animals were exposed
to dichlorvos.

How likely is dichlorvos to cause cancer?

It is not known whether dichlorvos causes
cancer in people. A study in rats and mice reported that rats
had an increase in cancer of the pancreas and in leukemia,
and female mice had an increase in stomach cancer after they
were fed dichlorvos for 2 years.

The Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) has determined that dichlorvos may reasonably be anticipated
to be a carcinogen. The International Agency for Research
on Cancer (IARC) has determined that dichlorvos is possibly
carcinogenic to humans. The EPA has determined that dichlorvos
is a probable human carcinogen.

Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to dichlorvos?

There is a general test that can be used
to determine if you have been exposed to a group of insecticides,
including dichlorvos. This test measures the activity of an
enzyme called acetylcholinesterase in the blood. However,
it does not specifically show exposure to dichlorvos.

Specific tests are available to identify
dichlorvos or its breakdown products in your urine. These
tests aren't available at most doctors' offices, but can be
done at special laboratories that have the right equipment.

ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in
recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.

Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737

To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000

Disclaimer
Some PDF files may be electronic conversions from paper copy or other electronic ASCII text files. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors. Users are referred to the original paper copy of the toxicological profile for the official text, figures, and tables. Original paper copies can be obtained via the directions on the toxicological profile home page, which also contains other important information about the profiles.

The information contained here was correct at the time of publication. Please check with the appropriate agency for any changes to the regulations or guidelines cited.